As 50 million people in the storm's path await the outcome, Sandy is making its way slowly along the Eastern Seaboard from the sea off North Carolina.

Evacuations are being considered in low-lying areas. In southeast Wilmington, Del., 3,000 residents are under an order to leave by noon Sunday. Mayor James Baker said the area could get higher-than-normal water levels that may threaten safety.

In Delaware City, school buses are lined up and ready to be called into action.

Officials issued a mandatory evacuation for New York's Fire Island. About 200 permanent residents of the summer haven have until 2 p.m. Sunday to leave the island that officials say is prone to flooding. "It's a thin strip of land and it borders two sides of water," says Inez Birbiglia, spokeswoman person for the Town of Islip, which has partial jurisdiction over the area. "They need to evacuate so that resources during the emergency can be allocated to other needy places on the mainland."

Sandy took a short breather early today and weakened into a tropical storm, but only for a couple of hours before it roared back to hurricane status.

It is expected to push heavy rains into most of the region by Monday. The storm's center is likely to make landfall somewhere along the New Jersey or Delaware coast late Monday, according to computer forecasting models.

In Rehoboth Beach, Del., city workers are on the beach, removing benches, trash cans and anything else that could become a dangerous missile.

The storm's winds, rains and potential snow could cause widespread havoc. Weather forecasters predict up to 10 inches of rain in some regions, snowstorms in others and widespread wind damage that could down power lines.

As of 11:00 p.m., the center of Hurricane Sandy was located about 360 miles east-southeast of Charleston, S.C., and about 305 miles south of Cape Hatteras, N.C., according to the National Hurricane Center. It remained a Category 1 hurricane, with a wind speed of 75 mph. The storm is moving to the northeast at about 14 mph.

High-wind watches and warnings are in effect for all the Mid-Atlantic states and southern New England.

AccuWeather is reporting that Hurricane Sandy remains on track to become a historical storm, with places from Norfolk, Va., to Washington, D.C., to Boston bracing for catastrophic impacts. The worst is forecast to be Monday through Tuesday.

If Sandy hits near New York City, as one weather model predicts, the storm surge will be capable of overtopping the flood walls in Manhattan, which are only 5 feet above mean sea level, according to Weather Underground meteorologist Jeff Masters.

Storm surge is the massive mound of water that builds up and is pushed ashore as a hurricane moves over the ocean. Sandy's storm surge may be higher than Hurricane Irene's, Masters said, and has the potential to flood New York City's subway system.

The storm's landfall along the Mid-Atlantic coast "would likely be a billion-dollar disaster," Masters says. He also noted that the full moon will occur Monday, which means astronomical tides will be at their peak for the month, increasing potential storm surge flooding.

The American Red Cross is readying shelters, volunteers and supplies to help coastal areas from Virginia to New England. "We want to make sure we're ready to spring into action as soon as we're needed," spokeswoman Anne Marie Borrego says.

The Red Cross has been shipping blood to hospitals in the affected region.

Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania have declared states of emegency.

“Know your risks, have a plan and be prepared.”

Craig Fugate, FEMA

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has sent incident management teams to Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont to help local emergency managers prepare for the storm and its aftermath. The agency also sent liaison officers to emergency operations centers in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. The Defense Department has sent officers to deploy with the FEMA teams to coordinate possible search-and-rescue missions.

"This is a big storm with potential impacts beyond coastal areas. Know your risks, have a plan and be prepared," FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate says. "Now is the time to update your family communication plans, check your supplies, and stay informed."

FEMA has stockpiled supplies, including generators, blankets, water and food, throughout the Eastern Seaboard and at military bases in the region, including Fort Dix in New Jersey.

National Guard soldiers have been mobilized in several states, including North Carolina, Virginia, and Connecticut.

CLOSE

Coastal residents and travelers are capturing video of intense waves and wind churned up by Hurricane Sandy.

In North Carolina, 75 members of the National Guard have been positioned around the state to provide emergency relief if needed, says Julia Jarema, a spokeswoman for North Carolina Emergency Management.

Soldiers in Raleigh, Tarboro, and Washington, N.C., may be called to hand out supplies, perform rescue missions or help with general operations.

National Guard soldiers and state troopers are taking pre-storm positions in Virginia. Contractors, including those who remove debris, have also been readied.

"We're about as ready as we're going to be able to be," Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell says. "Our biggest concern remains that this will be a storm of lengthy duration."

The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., has canceled Monday classes but promises students that food service will be operating no matter what.

"Sandy could pose an enormous threat to major metropolitan areas in the Northeast, like New York City and Long Island, Atlantic City and Baltimore," says Howard Botts, vice president of CoreLogic, a research and consulting firm based in Santa Ana, Calif.

AccuWeather meteorologist Tom Kines says winds could have the biggest impact, causing widespread power outages. "You've got to be concerned since it's an area with such a large population," Kines says.

“Wind damage, widespread power outages, inland flooding and storm surge are all likely.”

James Franklin, National Hurricane Center

Storm surge remains one of the biggest threats from the storm: Data from CoreLogic shows that more than 261,000 homes valued at more than $80 billion are at risk from potential storm-surge damage in the coastal Mid-Atlantic states, assuming the storm hits the coast as a Category 1 hurricane.

"This will be a long-lasting event, with two to three days of impact," says James Franklin, branch chief of the National Hurricane Center. "Wind damage, widespread power outages, inland flooding and storm surge are all likely."

Sandy is gearing up for an assault from South Carolina to New England. Weather forecasters say the storm is likely to run into a cold front approaching from the Midwest, which could dump up to 2 feet of snow in parts of West Virginia and Virginia.

In the final weeks before the U.S. presidential election Nov. 6, the storm was presenting a challenge to the campaigns of President Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

Romney cancelled a rally scheduled for Sunday evening in Virginia Beach, Va., and President Obama's re-election campaign announced that Vice President Joe Biden had also cancelled a Saturday trip to Virginia Beach.

Delaware was bracing for a threat rivaling the March 1962 nor'easter that has stood as the state's worst storm. Collin O'Mara, secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, says Sandy could unleash record waves and tidal flooding along the coast."The potential on this is greater than the defenses that we have in most places," O'Mara says. "We're taking this as an extremely significant problem, probably the most significant we've seen in decades."

Insurer Allstate is expanding efforts to prepare, spokeswoman April Eaton says."We are currently rolling our catastrophe personnel, mobile claim centers and catastrophe response vehicles to Raleigh, N.C., for staging," she says. "Staging allows us to get our national catastrophe team members and units positioned in a safe place, but close to areas that may be impacted by Sandy.

"Once we see where the hurricane makes landfall, and authorities allow us in, we're able to move from the staging area or holding pattern and go into the heavily damaged communities to help Allstate customers begin the claim process."

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A road is filled with discarded furniture and debris on Nov. 14 in Ortley Beach, N.J. Residents finally got home to salvage belongings and clean up their homes after Hurricane Sandy struck their neighborhood.
Peter Ackerman, Asbury Park Press

Kathy Krieger removes a full trash bag as she cleans up her home on East Pennsylvannia Avenue with the help of her brother, Bill Krieger, who still can't get into his home.
Peter Ackerman, Asbury Park Press

Kelly Spector, left, and her mother, Suzanne Hasselmann, leave their destroyed home on Nov. 13 in Breezy Point, N.Y. A fire burned dozens of homes in the community during Hurricane Sandy.
Mark Lennihan, AP

Police guard a gas station in New York City. Due to a fuel shortage brought about by damage from Hurricane Sandy, the state is rationing gas according to license plate number.
Stan Honda, AFP/Getty Images

People wait in line to get gas at a station in Brooklyn, N.Y. Fuel shortages and distribution delays have prompted New York City and Long Island to initiate an even-odd gas rationing plan.
Kathy Willens, AP

A Nov. 7 NOAA satellite photograph shows a winter storm approaching the East Coast with rain, snow and possible gale force winds. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a limited evacuation of some neighborhoods still recovering from Superstorm Sandy.
NOAA via AFP/Getty Images

Frank d'Amico, 46, left, and Orlando Vogler, 26, stand by their fire to keep warm after their homes in the New Dorp Beach were devastated by Sandy in the Staten Island borough of New York.
By John Minchillo, AP

Metropolitan Transportation Authority employees use a pump train to get seawater out of the L train's tunnel in the aftermath of Sandy in New York. The MTA says the G and L trains are now the top priority. The signal system on the G still needs repairs, and the L tunnel under the East River is still being pumped out.
By Patrick Cashin, Metroplitan Transportation Authority viaAP

A woman and her son scramble over a toppled tree as they head to Public School 195 on Nov. 5 in the Manhattan Beach neighborhood in Brooklyn, N.Y. Students returned to school for the first time since Hurricane Sandy struck the city last week.
Mark Lennihan, AP

In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, patrons wait in line to fill gas containers on Nov. 2 in Seaford, New York. This station had one line for cars and one for walkers with containers.
Bruce Bennett, Getty Images

Hunterdon County Prosecutor's office employees Kristen Larsen and Mike Nugent load donated water into cars for people without power who visited the Hunterdon County Complex in Raritan Township. Those victimized by the storm could find shelter there and charge phones or access the Internet at the library.
Kathy Johnson, MyCentralJersey Courier News

Manager Dean Pappas, 40, of Long Island, pauses as he makes coffee at The Open Pantry store, which was still without power on Nov. 2, on New York's 12th Street. Consolidated Edison says it should have service restored by Saturday to about226,000 dark buildings, homes and businesses in Manhattan.
John Minchillo, AP

The Midtown skyline remains lit as Lower Manhattan remains mostly without power on Nov. 1 in New York City. The storm has claimed at least 90 lives in the U.S., and has caused massive flooding across much of the Eastern Seaboard.
Afton Almaraz, Getty Images

Margaret Knichel and daughter Rebecca O’Neill of Union Beach, N.J., look for any items belonging to Knichel’s son, Shawn Knichel, while standing on what was the kitchen floor of his home, destroyed by Sandy.
Tanya Breen/ Asbury Park Press

Family members walk through Dianne Hague's flood-damaged kitchen in the Ocean Breeze area of Staten Island. The house, like most in the seaside community, was inundated by the saltwater surge caused by Sandy.
John Moore, Getty Images

Members of New York National Guard transfer bottles of water at the 1st Battalion, 69th Regiment Armory, in New York. The National Guard and federal emergency management officials will deliver 1 million meals and bottled water to Lower Manhattan, parts of Brooklyn and Queens and the Rockaways, which were hit by flooding and house fires.
Richard Drew, AP

A utility truck from Southern California Edison is loaded onto a C-17A Globemaster III on at March Air Reserve Base in Moreno Valley, Calif. Southern California Edison trucks are being flown to the New York area to help in the power restoration efforts.
Stan Lim, AP

Joseph Leader, vice president and chief maintenance officer of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, looks at 20 feet of flood water inside the South Ferry 1 train station on Oct. 31 in New York City.
Craig Ruttle, AP

Shopping carts full of food damaged by Superstorm Sandy await disposal Oct. 31 at the Fairway supermarket in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn.
The food was contaminated by floodwaters that rose to approximately 4 feet in the store during the storm.
Seth Wenig, AP

The New Jersey Army National Guard released this photo on Oct. 31 that shows storm waves crashing over a roller coaster a day earlier at the Seaside Heights amusement park in New Jersey.
Master Sgt. Mark C. Olsen via AFP/Getty Images

A resident looks over the aftermath of a house explosion along Noe Street in Carteret, N.J. Three homes burned to the ground. One family had just been rescued from raising floodwaters.
Mark R. Sullivan, MYCENTRALJERSEY.COM

Only scorched foundations and a statue remain on Oct. 30 after a six-alarm fire at Breezy Point, N.Y. The blaze began in a flooded area as the storm was sweeping through the area.
Frank Franklin II, AP

Live electrical wires are tangled in a tree downed by Hurricane Sandy as firefighters battle an early-morning house fire on Heathcote Avenue on Oct. 30 in Edison, N.J.
Jason Towlen, Home News Tribune/Staff Photographer

The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey released this photo taken from closed-circuit television showing floodwaters rushing in to the Hoboken PATH station through an elevator shaft in New Jersey.
AFP/Getty Images

Judi Doherty, a nurse and volunteer with Rockland County Animal Response Team, tends to the pets brought into the American Red Cross/Rockland County Disaster Shelter at SUNY Rockland in Suffern, N.Y.
John Meore for The Journal News

Barry Wherley, left, holds a waterproof radio as he waits for the grand opening of a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant in Springettsbury Township in York, Pa. The first 100 customers received free wings for a year.
Paul Kuehnel, York Daily Record, via AP

Jack Frey, 14, hands a screw gun to his father, Chris, as they board up the family's oceanfront home on Broadway near the Manasquan Inlet in Point Pleasant Beach, N.J.
By Thomas P. Costello, Asbury (N.J.) Park Press

"I'm out in the middle of no where," said Bill DiBenedetto, of Briarcliff, N.Y., as he stocks up on extra gasoline at a gas station in Millwood, N.Y.
By Melissa Elian, The (Westchester, N.Y.) Journal News

Rick Osborn, left, helps homeowners Stephani and Paul Derrick carry a refrigerator as the Derricks remove the contents of their Manville, N.J., home in preparation for Hurricane Sandy.
By A.F. Meneze, MyCentralJersey.com

Ever Long, 1, and her dog, Bailey, peek out the backdoor of their boarded-up house in Bay View Beach, Del. The residents of the town have been given a mandatory evacuation order.
By Suchat Pederson, The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal

Mike and Carolyn Conti of Lewes, Del., shield their three children, Trey, left, Sarah, center, and twin sister Alexis, from winds as they watch the waves on Rehoboth Beach in Delaware.
By Eileen Blass, USA TODAY

People bag sand as part of preparations for Hurricane Sandy in the Rockaway Beach neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a mandatory evacuation on low-lying coastal areas of the city.
By Allison Joyce, Getty Images

Residents express their displeasure with Mother Nature with this message on the plywood protecting Mario's Barber Shop in Long Beach Township as Sandy makes its way up the coast toward New Jersey.
Peter Ackerman, Gannett

Steve Petrie loads several tanks of gasoline into his car in preparation for Hurricane Sandy, Oct. 27. Petrie spent over $100 for fuel to power a generator he purchased from Home Depot earlier in the day.
Melissa Elian, The Journal News

A loader makes a sand barrier on the beach to help stop storm surge from approaching Hurricane Sandy on Oct. 28, in Atlantic City. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie ordered Atlantic City's 12 casinos to shut down and surrounding states have also declared a state of emergency.
Mark Wilson, Getty Images

Jerry Velez, top, Richard Caguilat, left, and William Disburger, right, remove a large sign from the Sea Shell Ice Cream shop in Wildwood, N.J., on Oct. 27 in preparation for Hurricane Sandy. From the lowest lying areas of the Jersey shore, where residents were already being encouraged to leave, to the state's northern highlands, where sandbags were being filled and cars moved into parking lots on high ground, New Jersey began preparing in earnest for Hurricane Sandy.
Mel Evans, AP

Metropolitan Transportation Authority workers cover an entrance to the Canal St. A, C, and E station with plywood to help prevent flooding in New York. As Hurricane Sandy approaches the New York region, residents of some flood-prone areas have been told to evacuate and officials are preparing for a possible transit system shutdown.
Mary Altaffer, AP

Nick Almeter, 26, prepares for another storm, as he carries another sandbag to place by properties along Ocean View Avenue in Norfolk, Va. Hurricane Sandy, upgraded again Saturday just hours after forecasters said it had weakened to a tropical storm, was barreling north from the Caribbean and was expected to make landfall early Tuesday near the Delaware coast, then hit two winter weather systems as it moves inland, creating a hybrid monster storm.
Ross Taylor, The Virginian Pilot via AP

Jessica Rosenberg of Scarsdale, loads the last of many food and water items she purchased at the Stop and Shop in White Plains. Rosenberg, like most Lower Hudson Valley residents, was stocking up on essential items like water, canned and dry food items as well as batteries, in preparation of Hurricane Sandy.
Matthew Brown, Gannett

Owner Mike Cannon stands in his fishing boat, MegaBites II, as a 50-ton lift carries the boat out of the Maurice River at Yank Marine Services marina in Dorchester, N.J., in preparation for Hurricane Sandy.
Mel Evans, AP

Hurricane Sandy churns off the east coast on October 27 in the Atlantic Ocean. As states of emergency are declared Sandy is expected to head up the coast this weekend and make a possible landfall anywhere from North Carolina to New England.
NOAA via Getty Images

A resident of Leogane, Haiti, makes her way to her home as the water level continues to rise on Oct. 26. Residents of Leogane have had five consecutive days of rain in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, which caused serious flooding and claimed at least 26 lives in the impoverished country.
Carl Juste, The Miami Herald via AP

Men carry a gas container through a street that was damaged by Hurricane Sandy in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, Friday Oct. 26, 2012. Sandy was a Category 2 hurricane when it wreaked havoc in Cuba on Thursday, killing 11 people in eastern Santiago and Guantanamo provinces as its winds and rain destroyed thousands of houses and ripped off roofs.
Franklin Reyes, AP